1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Wirral
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Christmas trees to protect sand dunes
Short description of the intervention
North Wirral Coastal Rangers and volunteers are working together to plant discarded Christmas trees to stabilise sand dunes between Leasowe Bay and the Gunsite area of the North Wirral Coastal Park. The Christmas trees help to catch and trap sand blowing in from the beach and in a few years will create artificial dune shapes, benefiting plants and animals. (Ref. 1)

In 2016 the Rangers and volunteers undertook a dune restoration project at the Gunsite. They advertised for the public to drop off their old Christmas trees at a collection point. The trees were then used to reinforce the dunes and trap sand. This was very successful and in 2017 they continued with the project, again with great success. In 2018 they ran a high profile social media campaign using Twitter and Facebook, asking for more Christmas Trees. This has generated a huge response and generated over 900 trees. It also prompted Radio Merseyside to interview Dave Stevenson, the Coastal Ranger, over the project and how it was helping to stabilize and re-establish the dunes (Ref 8).
Address

Wirral
United Kingdom

Location
The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by).
Area boundary
POINT (3.093445 53.424654)
POINT (3.087004 53.423055)
POINT (-3.094611 53.420659)
POINT (-3.092888 53.419028)
POINT (-3.102518 53.417518)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
https://www.google.com/maps/place/North+Wirral+Coastal+Park/@53.4244874,-3.1036977,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x922c8183ab4ba21e!8m2!3d53.4239759!4d-3.0882482
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Other
Please specify “other type of area” before implementation of the NBS
Coastal Area (Ref 1)
Website of the intervention
http://wirralview.com/news/christmas-trees-help-protect-and-rebuild-sand-dunes
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2015
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2015
End date of the intervention
ongoing
Present stage of the intervention
Ongoing
Please specify "other" stage of the intervention
The project was launched in 2015. (Ref. 1)
Goals of the intervention
The aim is to combat the problem of sand dune erosion (the concrete sea defenses on the coast often block windblown sand, preventing it from settling naturally into sand dunes). This is solved by using old Christmas trees to catch and trap sand blowing in from the beach. After a few years the trees will be buried under the sand and form artificial dunes shapes. These dune shapes will: encourage Marram and Lyme grasses to take root. Also, "the sand dunes form a natural defense against sea winds and are home to a variety of wildlife species including sand lizards and colorful burnet moths." (Ref. 1, 2) one objective regarding coastal sand dunes in the BAP is to “protect existing resources from loss in area or degradation in quality; and improve the quality of existing sand dune habitat towards favorable conservation status). (Ref. 4)

Quantitative targets
Use 60 old Christmas trees to create sand dunes (in 2017). (Ref. 1)
In 2018 they ran a high profile social media campaign using twitter and Facebook, asking for more Christmas Trees. This has generated a huge response and generated over 900 trees. (Ref 8)
Monitoring indicators defined
meters of sand trapped (Ref 1, 2)
number of old Christmas trees to create sand dunes (in 2017). (Ref. 1)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
Coastal protection / hazard mitigation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Environmental quality
Waste management
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social interaction
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable consumption
Please specify "other Habitats and biodiversity conservation activity"
"one objective regarding coastal sand dunes in the BAP is to “protect existing resource from loss in area or degradation in quality; and improve the quality of existing sand dune habitat towards favourable conservation status). (Ref. 4)"
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Ecosystem-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
Protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect species
Other
Please specify "other Type of NBS project"
sustainable production/consumption via recycling old christmas trees for sustainable use (Ref 1)
Implementation activities
Costal rangers have been working with volunteers (e.g. from middle of January when the old Christmas trees start coming in).
The Christmas trees placed in 2016 were still there in 2017, having trapped around one metre of sand.
Wasted Christmas trees are being recycled and benefiting Wirral's coastline. Also, the project preserves natural beauty and help e.g. animal habitats. (Ref. 1, 2)

Type of NBS project
Coastal landscape management or protection
Ecological restoration of ecosystems
Other
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Blue infrastructure
Coastlines
Vegetation Type
Grass
Trees
Please specify how many trees were planted
Unknown. 900 Christmas trees were donated in 2018 used for strengthening sand dunes (Ref. 8)
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Raw materials
Regulating services
Coastal protection
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Social and community interactions
Please specify "other regulating service"
Protect sand dunes from erosion. (Ref. 1)
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Please specify other local relevant strategy
Wirral's Coastal Strategy (including the management plan) which covers the entire coastline and has incliuded the North Wirral shoreline for its environmental interest (and the strategy also takes coastal erosin into consideration). (Ref. 6)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Citizens or community groups
Coalition with multiple of the above
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The North Wirral Coastal Park is managed by the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Ranger Service. (Ref. 3) Work was carried out together with a group of volunteers. (Ref. 1) The Friends of the North Wirral Coastal Park a volunteer organisation established in 1998 to support the Ranger Service in the management and betterment of initially the Gunsite area of the North Wirral Coastal Park. Since 2003 the friends have aimed to assist the Ranger Service in helping to maintain the entire site, to boost the awareness of the park and its uniqueness, to improving the site and to provide funding for various projects. (Ref. 3)
Key actors - initiating organization
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
District/neighbourhood association
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
District/neighbourhood association
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Unknown
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
Wirral Biodiversity Action Plan includes the The North Wirral Coastal Park (with regards to e.g. its sand dunes), one objective regarding coastal sand dunes in the BAP is to “protect existing resource from loss in area or degradation in quality; and improve the quality of existing sand dune habitat towards favourable conservation status). (Ref. 4)
Wirral’s Climate change strategy (2014-2019), which includes the aim to reduce waste (e.g. re-use or recycle). (Ref. 5)
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
Wirral's Coastal Strategy (including the management plan) which covers the entire coastline and has incliuded the North Wirral shoreline for its environmental interest (and the strategy also takes coastal erosin into consideration). (Ref. 6)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
City specific climate change policy or plan
Biodiversity strategy or plan
Other
Please specify other vegetation type
Christmas trees to stabilise sand dunes (Ref 1)
sand blowing in from the beach , artificial dune shapes (Ref 1)
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The Friends of the North Wirral Coastal Park a volunteer organisation established in 1998 to support the Ranger Service in the management and betterment of initially the Gunsite area of the North Wirral Coastal Park. Since 2003 the friends have aimed to assist the Ranger Service in helping to maintain the entire site, to boost the awareness of the park and its uniqueness, to improving the site and to provide funding for various projects. (Ref. 3)
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Not applicable
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Reduced waste through recycling the old Christmas trees. (Ref. 1)
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Other
Please specify other source of funding
Wirral Council’s park maintenance service [through e.g. council’s rangers] (although this is undergoing budget savings). (Ref. 7)
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Provision of goods
Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Business models
Risk reduction model
Local stewardship model
Please specify other environmental impact
The project helps reverse natural erosion of sand dunes, helping to protect Wirral's coastal sand dunes. The dunes are a natural habitat for vulnerable species such as common lizards and rare mining bees. (Ref 9)
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Private non-for-profit actor (e.g. NGO, foundation)
Type of innovation
Technological
Product innovation
Please specify technological innovation
Placing old Christmas trees to catch/trap sand blowing in from the beach in order to create artificial dunes (to support habitats). (Ref. 1, 2)
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is completely new without connections to previous initiative(s)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
The project is new (launched in 2015) will the overall aim of protecting the sand dunes from erosion. (Ref. 1, 2)
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Environmental quality
Improved waste management
Improved protection against strong wind
Water management and blue areas
Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
Green space and habitat
Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
Increased number of species present
Increased protection of threatened species
Other
Description of environmental benefits
Around 900 used Christmas trees were donated in 2018. (Ref 8)

Coastal park rangers working together with volunteers (civic engagement) placing trees to catch and trap sand blowing in from the beach to create sand dunes (benefiting the coastline, animal/plant habitats, preserving natural beauty, and reducing waste by recycling Christmas trees). (Ref. 1, 2)
-It also prompted Radio Merseyside to interview Dave Stevenson, the Coastal Ranger, over the project and how it was helping to stabilize and re-establish the dunes (Ref 8)
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Cultural heritage and sense of place
Protection of natural heritage
Education
Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Description of social and cultural benefits
The Friends of the North Wirral Coastal Park a volunteer organisation established in 1998 to support the Ranger Service in the management and betterment of initially the Gunsite area of the North Wirral Coastal Park. Since 2003 the friends have aimed to assist the Ranger Service in helping to maintain the entire site, to boost the awareness of the park and its uniqueness, to improving the site and to provide funding for various projects. (Ref. 3)
Coastal park rangers working together with volunteers (civic engagement) placing trees to catch and trap sand blowing in from the beach to create sand dunes (benefiting the coastline, animal/plant habitats, preserving natural beauty, and reducing waste by recycling Christmas trees). (Ref. 1, 2)
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Coastal park rangers working together with volunteers (civic engagement) placing trees to catch and trap sand blowing in from the beach to create sand dunes (benefiting the coastline, animal/plant habitats, preserving natural beauty, and reducing waste by recycling Christmas trees). (Ref. 1, 2)
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of Aug 31 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref. 1
Ref. 2
Ref. 3
Ref. 4
Ref. 5
Ref. 6
Ref. 7
List of references
Ref. 1. Wirral View (2017) Christmas trees help protect and rebuild sand dunes. Information obtained: 2017-07-27. [Website not available in 2020]
Ref. 2. Floral Pavilion (n.d.) New Brighton Lighthouse. Natural Assets. Source: https://www.floralpavilion.com/usercontent/documents/downloads/NaturalAssets.pdf [Accessed on 28 August 2020]
Ref. 3. Wiser Directory and Facebook (n.d.) Friends of the North Wirral Coastal Park. Wirral. UK. Information obtained: 2017-07-27. (source1: https://www.facebook.com/The-friends-of-north-wirral-coastal-park-139267539450303/ and source2: https://wiser.directory/organization/friends-of-the-north-wirral-coastal-park/). [Accessed on 28 August 2020]
Ref. 4. Wirral Council (2003) Wirral Biodiversity Action Plan. A framework for local biodiversity conservation. Wirral Biodiversity Partnership Technical Group. Source: https://www.wirral.gov.uk/sites/default/files/all/planning%20and%20building/Local%20plans%20and%20planning%20policy/Local%20Planning%20Evidence%20Base%20and%20Research/Wirral%20Documents/Wirral%20BAP%20FINAL%20February%202003%20for%20Web%20site.pdf [Accessed on 28 August 2020]
Ref. 5. Wirral Council (2014) Wirral climate change strategy 2014-2019. Cool Wirral Climate Change Action. Source: https://www.wirral.gov.uk/sites/default/files/all/About%20the%20council/climate%20change/Wirral%20Climate%20Change%20Strategy%202014-2019.pdf [Accessed 28 August 2020]
Ref. 6. Wirral Council (2013) Wirral coastal strategy report: Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management. Report. Source: https://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/documents/s50014529/Wirral%20Coastal%20Strategy%20Report%20-%20Flood%20and%20Coastal%20Erosion%20Risk%20Management.pdfhttps://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/documents/s50014529/Wirral%20Coastal%20Strategy%20Report%20-%20Flood%20and%20Coastal%20Erosion%20Risk%20Management.pdf [Accessed on 28 August 2020]
Ref. 7. Wirral Council (n.d.) Withdrawal of parks' maintenance. Officer Options Withdrawal of Parks Maintenance v1. Source: http://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/documents/s50008180/Withdrawal%20of%20Parks%20Maintenance%20Options%20Final.pdf [Accessed on 28 August 2020]
Ref. 8. Wirral Borough Council (2019) North Wirral Coastal Park. Management plan 2015-20. Source: http://www.greenflagaward.org.uk/data/UploadedDocuments/b505fb0d-b05c-4354-a408-2c0eae55d6eb_NWCP%20finalmanplan%20Jan%2019.pdf [Accessed on 28 August 2020]
Ref. 9. Families (2018) Recycling Your Christmas Tree in Wirral 2018. Source: https://www.familiesonline.co.uk/local/wirral/in-the-know/recycling-your-christmas-tree-in-wirral [Accessed on 28 August 2020]
Comments and notes
Additional insights
NBS area layer, image and source of image:
The references only broadly mention ‘sand dunes between Leasowe Bay and the Gunsite area of the North Wirral Coastal Park’ it is not very clear what the boundaries are, whether the entire area is covered or not (it looks more likely that these are scattered sand dunes across the coast). Additionally, the Christmas trees are not planted but buried in sand to stop the movement of sand and maintain the sand dunes (Ref 1, 8)
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/sand_dunes_ref_1.jpg
Public Images
Christmas trees being used for dune protection
Christmas trees being used for dune protection
http://www.greenflagaward.org.uk/data/UploadedDocuments/b505fb0d-b05c-4354-a408-2c0eae55d6eb_NWCP%20finalmanplan%20Jan%2019.pdf
Christmas trees being used for dune protection
Christmas trees being used for dune protection
http://www.greenflagaward.org.uk/data/UploadedDocuments/b505fb0d-b05c-4354-a408-2c0eae55d6eb_NWCP%20finalmanplan%20Jan%2019.pdf
Donated Christmas trees
Donated Christmas trees
http://www.greenflagaward.org.uk/data/UploadedDocuments/b505fb0d-b05c-4354-a408-2c0eae55d6eb_NWCP%20finalmanplan%20Jan%2019.pdf